Circulating intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and lymphocyte subsets involved in immune response of breast cancer.

To understand the immune responses of patients with breast cancer, circulating intercellular adhesion molecules-1 (ICAM-1) and lymphocyte subsets were measured in patients with breast cancer and in healthy persons. There were 10 patients of with metastasis, 11 patients breast cancer without metastasis and 9 age-and-sex matched healthy persons. Their serum samples were counted for circulating ICAM-1 levels, and blood cells were calculated for lymphocyte subpopulation including CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD19 by using flow cytometry. Higher levels of circulating ICAM-1 were noted in patients with breast cancer and metastasis than those without metastasis (p < 0.01). Lower percentage of CD8 lymphocyte subset were found ih patients with breast cancer and metastasis than those without metastasis (p < 0.05). Shedding of ICAM-1 antigens from the tumor may block the attachment of cytotoxic T cells, and decreased numbers of cytotoxic T cells may be unable to inhibit the spread of cancer cells. Immune responses of patients with breast cancer may be different between metastatic status and limited status. Further investigations should correlate the results of tissue stains of breast cancer with ICAM-1 and lymphocyte markers with those from peripheral blood.